Satori Staff 2024
Directors:
Mike Cantlon – Satori Camp Co-founder and Director
After nearly 40 years of teaching gifted students for Spokane School District 81, Mike retired in 2018. Now, Mike is enjoying quasi-retirement by…continuing to teach every chance he gets and to anyone who will listen.
Dr. Bruce Mitchell – Satori Camp Co-founder
Bruce was a life-long teacher who co-founded Satori with Mike Cantlon. Doc was a noted researcher and author in the areas of creativity, gifted education, and multicultural education. We are a family because of Doc and he is sorely missed by the whole Satori family.
*Sara Maleki, Esq. – Satori Camp Associate Director
She is a graduate of Gonzaga University School of Law and is an attorney and shareholder at GLP Attorneys in Spokane, WA. She has had the pleasure of being the Satori Associate Director for…several years. She is totally 25 years old.
Counselors:
Satori Camp counselors are predominantly certified teachers and students in an education program. Most of our counselors are Satori campers who have worked their way into camp counselor positions.
Instructors:
*F. Tyler Burnet – holds a MFA from University of Georgia Athens and recently completed the national tours of West Side Story and Sister Act.
Kaitlyn Etter Burnet – has a BFA in Musical Theatre and a Master of Arts in Teaching. She was on the National/International tour of Sister Act. She currently teaches theatre in Ridgefield, WA.
*Cassidy Freeman – has a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry with minors in Statistical Mathematics and Biology and is currently attending Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine with an interest in small animal emergency.
Pat Gaylord – is a Vice President and the Geomatics Service Excellence Leader for David Evans and Associates. He is a licensed Professional Land Surveyor in Oregon, Washington and Idaho and is a Certified Federal Surveyor (CFedS).
Claire Grubb – is currently working on her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Art Therapy at Antioch University in Seattle. When she’s not studying or working as a childcare provider, Claire is collecting new creative hobbies.
Cara Heath – is a history and English teacher with Spokane Public Schools.
Dr. Derek Hutchinson – is a curriculum designer and educator of highly capable middle school students in the Kansas City area. His academic background is in the relationship between learning and the composition of identity.
* Monica Jensen – has experience teaching in the humanities at both the secondary and tertiary level. She currently lives in Seattle with a foolishly large dice collection.
*Joe Johnson – graduated from Lawrence University with a BA in Theatre Arts and Psychology, after attending Odyssey and Lewis and Clark High School. An avid supporter of the Portland arts scene, his academic interests include music, language, culture, storytelling, communication, and design.
Dr. Ashley Lamm – is an associate professor at Eastern Washington University, teaching chemistry and biochemistry. She holds a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Oregon.
David Lott – earned a degree in Chemistry from Gonzaga University and has spent the last 25 years working in the fuel cell industry. His work developing fuel cell technology has helped generate over 20 patents covering a wide variety of topics. He now manages a fuel cell stack development team for Plug Power.
*Jennifer Lott – holds an MS in Mental Health Counseling from Western Washington University and works as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor at Gonzaga University.
Greg McGuire – Satori’s beloved DJ brings more than 20 years of experience of DJing Satori dances. In addition, Greg works in Computer Sciences at Gonzaga University.
Bruce McDavis – 6th degree black belt in Goju-ryu Karate; has been teaching karate since 1975 throughout the Inland Northwest.
JaKe McNinch – graduated from the University of Washington with BAs in ‘Medical Anthropology and Global Health’ and ‘Romance Linguistics.’ Currently he is working to create better health outcomes through improved doctor/patient relationships while on the path to a ‘Rural Health MD.’
Marnie Miller-Keas – has a Masters in Environmental Science. She worked as a field biologist for 7 years, and now teaches in Spokane Public Schools.
Erik Ness – currently working at the Nowethest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC) in the Education Department. He holds a BA in History, with a minor in English that he earned from EWU.
Tamara Schupman – choral conductor and administrator with 30 years of experience. She was the Music and Executive Director of the Spokane Area Children’s Chorus for many years. Tammy has a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Oregon.
*Connor Shirley – has worked as a reader and assistant editor for various literary magazines and online publications.
Carolina Suarez-Purdum – is originally from Argentina and has been teaching art for 13 years. She has her BA in Fine Arts at WSU and her M.Ed. from Eastern.
Shawn Tolley – is a music teacher in Spokane, WA. His elementary music classes focus on performing music in a culturally responsible and traditional way. He leads after school performance ensembles working in World Music and Dance (Shaura), Zimbabwean style marimba (Rutsungo), and Japanese taiko (乗り越える太鼓, Norikoeru Taiko).
*Denotes former Satori campers.
